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There’s a reason Apple Computer dominates the legal 99-cents-a-download digital music scene: It does it right. Apple’s iPods set the style and ease-of-use standards that other portable music players must try (so far unsuccessfully) to match. Its iTunes Music Store and iTunes software are equally unparalleled.

Still, as I wrote in a column on the Napster To Go subscription service, Apple’s path isn’t the only one that makes sense.

I remain an unabashed iTunes junkie. But an alternative model the “portable” music subscription is growing on me. Now, with the addition of RealNetworks Rhapsody To Go service and especially with the debut this month of Yahoo Music Unlimited I imagine it’ll grow on others, too.

I did encounter some sour notes with the two services. Yahoo Music is still in “beta” testing, though the more serious snags actually occurred inside Rhapsody. But overall, both Yahoo and Real left a melodious impression. Each claims more than 1 million songs in its catalogs though they’re light on classical. (Apple says iTunes exceeds 1.5 million tracks.)

I’m guessing that Apple will eventually introduce a subscription service of its own.

Why? Under a subscription or rent-a-tune model, you can listen to a boatload of music for a lot less loot than on a buy-only download site. And you can carry those tunes in your pocket, via compatible portable digital music players. Buying 2,000 songs on iTunes would cost nearly 2 grand.

Under Yahoo, you could rent those same tracks for a fraction of that sum. And you can’t beat Yahoo’s introductory price of $59.88 a year, equal to $4.99 a month. If you prefer to go month to month, you’ll fork over $6.99. Subscribers who wish to buy, instead of rent, certain tracks will pay 79 cents each, non-subscribers 99 cents.

At $14.99 a month, Rhapsody To Go is costlier than Yahoo but still a bargain, on a per-song rental basis, compared with iTunes. RealNetworks subscribers can buy downloadable songs for 89 cents a pop. Nice touch: Those who don’t subscribe can still listen to 25 full-length “streams” and 25 radio stations a month.

(Napster To Go fetches $14.95 a month and 99 cents a track.)

As with Napster, there’s a catch to Real’s and Yahoo’s rental plans: You must remain a paying subscriber, or the songs you’ve rented will no longer be playable.

And forget about transferring Yahoo or Real rental tracks to an iPod. (You can still transfer to an iPod songs ripped from CDs and, in Real’s case, songs you buy.)

Why rent when you can buy? Aside from the cost savings, you may want to listen to something on a whim. Maybe you’re just curious about an emerging artist.

Renting can be complex, though, reflecting conflicts over digital rights. You’ll have to buy tunes to burn them to a CD. But some songs can’t be bought. Others can be streamed but not downloaded. Some can be downloaded but must stay tethered to a PC. And some can be downloaded and moved to a portable device. Got it?

I prefer Yahoo to Real, and not just because of the lower prices. Yahoo jukebox software (called Yahoo Music Engine) also worked more seamlessly than its Real counterpart. Using both services, I synchronized music with iRiver H10 and RCA Lyra RD2762 devices, though not all tracks ended up on the Lyra. That’s because, for now, this model can receive only purchased music, not rented tracks.

When I downloaded or transferred tracks to a portable device, Yahoo displayed a helpful status bar on the Music Engine screen to show the download progress. On Rhapsody, you must visit a separate screen.

Yahoo boasts other sweet touches. Yahoo Music is integrated with Yahoo Messenger. So you can see the music your IM pals are listening to and legally listen along.

You can also search for members who have similar tastes. Members can control who gets to see their collections. People you follow are called “influencers”; their highly rated songs will play on your personalized “LAUNCHcast” radio station. Those who seek your recommendations are deemed “followers.”

There were a few annoyances. Yahoo lets you search by album, artist, song or member, though not all at the same time. When I searched Yahoo for certain albums the soundtrack to the movie Fever Pitch, for example Yahoo showed a picture of the album cover and listed the songs. But there was no way to stream any of the album tracks. It happens that Yahoo lacks the rights to play those songs or to make them available for sale. Still, I felt teased.

I ran into bigger trouble with Rhapsody, at least at first. Real’s software kept freezing and crashing on an HP Pavilion notebook computer. I called Real for help. Disabling a feature in which Rhapsody is supposed to automatically search for and import new tracks into your music library fixed the problem. But that feature is one that many users will want. Real says a fix will be included in the next release.

What’s more, if you decide to buy a track as a Rhapsody subscriber, good luck figuring out how. I had to call the company to determine one way: I right-clicked on a song title and then clicked on the menu item “buy track(s).”

Though Rhapsody doesn’t have an instant-messaging component as Yahoo does, there are ways to share and discover free MP3 music. You can press a share button to publish a playlist on Rhapsody, e-mail that list to friends or write a blog about the contents. Rhapsody can show an instant playlist based on songs you’ve been listening to.

Microsoft’s digital rights software underpins both Rhapsody and Yahoo Music. So when something goes wrong with the software, it affects all the music services at once. When “licenses” on my machine somehow became corrupted, rental tracks on Rhapsody and Yahoo failed to play. I had to reinstall Microsoft’s software.

I don’t expect Apple to slip off the online music throne anytime soon. But Yahoo and Real are at least giving digital music fans plenty to think about.

Mary works in US for a media company, occasionally writing for the biggest MP3 music news portal, and drinking too much coffee.

Bruce Springsteen has released his latest CD offering entitled We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions.

It’s a tribute to Folk Music Legend Pete Seeger and is a different kind of music for The Boss, but I must say it is very well done. With Springsteen’s gravelly voice this CD took me back to the days when folk music reigned supreme.

From my first listening, this CD has become one of my all time favorites.

I really like the way it’s presented with a comfortably loose, live feeling that makes it even more enjoyable. The word is the entire collection was recorded in just 3 days which is probably what accounts for the spontaneous feel of the tracks.

Overall We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions is an outstanding release, one you shouldn’t hesitate to purchase if you like Springsteen’s rock stuff. I’d also recommend it to anyone who may not be a Springsteen fan but likes folk, country or acoustic music.

The standout tunes on We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions are Jesse James [track 2], Mrs. McGrath [track 3], and Pay Me My Money Down [track 11]. My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore […as in “Stuck On REpeat”] is track 12, We Shall Overcome. Very nice rendition!

Release Notes:

Bruce Springsteen originally released We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions on April 25, 2006 on the Sony record label.

CD track list follows:

1. Old Dan Tucker
 2. Jesse James
 3. Mrs. McGrath
 4. Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep
 5. John Henry
 6. Erie Canal
 7. Jacob's Ladder
 8. My Oklahoma Home
 9. Eyes On The Prize
 10. Shenandoah
 11. Pay Me My Money Down
 12. We Shall Overcome
 13. Froggie Went A-Courtin'
 14. Buffalo Gals (bonus track)
 15. How Can I Keep From Singing (bonus track)

To listen to samples of each song on We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions by Bruce Springsteen go to:
Bruce Springsteen CD - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions MP3 Samples

Clyde Lee Dennis, a.k.a. SmoothLee is a life long music fanatic. In addition to writing CD Reviews like this one for several music related websites he also hosts an internet radio show, and invites you to join him daily for some of the best soul soothing smooth jazz you’ll ever hear at http://www.SmoothJazz247.com

When most people think of piano lessons, they think drudgery. Beethoven, Czerny, scales, etc. What most people want, however, is to be able to express themselves creatively.

It’s a fact that if you decide to learn how to play in the classical style, you can pretty much forget about creating music. Instead, you’ll be recreating works that were inspired centuries ago and bringing them to life.

This is fine for most people and the curriculum usually stops here for them. For those who aren’t satisfied with this routine, there is very little in the way of creative music instruction - except for jazz. In jazz, you learn theory, harmony, etc. But even here, it is suggested that you really not attempt anything creative until you get enough technique under your belt.

Then there is New Age music - my favorite genre. Why? Because it is heartfelt yet not sanguine. It is honest, yet not sappy. In short, here is a music that is contemporary and likable AND EASY TO LEARN!

I’m always amazed that teachers want to start their students with repertoire that dates back as far as the 16th century. While there is no question this music is “good,” it’s also dead. And while a beginning writer who wants to learn the art of fiction will read the best authors of the past, he or she also wants to create something modern! Something that has their own voice. Why should music be any different?

Piano lessons don’t have to be the dull, lifeless exercise we know they can be. They can actually be FUN!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

This one’s for the kids. All those out there that never grow up. The kids that spend there waking minutes thinking about their iron lung. The kids that have to spend every night out there sleeping in the iron lungs of today. Yes iron lungs are still around, they have just gone underground. The name has been changed and as such no one thinks they are still around and pushes them undergound.

Porta-lungs are what they are called today. But they are the same devices of yesterday. Their music is the same as the past. They wheeze, hiss, moan and groan just like the old iron lungs of the past. There is not as many around as before but they are still here. The lungs for the kids of today are not for the polio era but other modern illnesses. Just recently a new one was to be shipped abroad.

Most kids of today have never seen the inside of one. And I hope that they never have to see one. But those that have, they want others to understand that sleeping in a regular bed to
them is not an option.

The music that pokes fun of the iron lung is not at all funny to those that use the lungs of today. The new era of vents and portable vents does not work for all cases and is actually not at all good for some. So the sound of the porta-lung’s moaning is music to the ears of a few. They know that while it is
moaning, groaning and creaking it is keeping some one alive!

Never seen one? Well here is your chance to do so.
http://www.robertbenjamin.com/Articles/scoliosis.htm

So next time some one ask you about the iron lung or the ‘new age porta-lung’ you can be better informed. Tell them it makes a different kind of music! It’s the music of life!

site manager for http://www.robertbenjamin.com

Many aspects of playing the piano such as note reading and ear training are intuitive. They just make sense. There are, however, important aspects of piano which are not intuitive. In fact they are counter-intuitive to most of us. That’s why a good piano teacher is so important.

Students imagine playing in a way that makes sense to them and “feels” comfortable. You can call this your “default” setting, what you do naturally out of habit. Ever try to change a habit? It’s difficult. It takes conscious effort over time, because the mind-body connection is un-conscious and powerful. If you’re a piano student who wants to improve your playing, the best way to do this is to change your habits so that they reflect your goals. In this way you’ll be playing with self awareness, rather than out of habit. And that’s a good thing!

Here are some simple steps to begin developing a powerful good piano habit that will go a long way toward helping you reach your goals.

Step 1

To see how you can improve your playing, sit up straight on the edge of the piano bench, with an arch in your lower back, (move the bench way back from the piano for now.) Put the palms of your hands together in front of you. Now separate your hands so that your forearms are parallel, but your palms are still facing each other. Now lift your forearms arms and then drop them, like they are asleep, from the elbow with your palms still facing. If your arms are completely relaxed, they should have fallen so that the tips of your fingers are pointing to the floor and your arms are completely extended, because there is no way to catch the weight of your arms with your elbows when you drop them.

Step 2

To improve your posture, try this again. Only instead of allowing your palms to face each other, turn them flat so your palms are horizontal, facing the floor. Bend your arms a little so that the tips of your elbows are pointing more toward the “walls,” and not toward the floor. Now lift your forearms toward the ceiling and then drop them from the elbows again. This time the weight of your forearms should catch in your elbows. Move your piano bench closer to the piano, but not too close (your elbows should be in front of your tummy.) Practice lifting and dropping your arms, catching the weight in your elbows, as you play one note, repeatedly. Lift and drop; lift and drop.

Step 3

Now practice this technique while playing octaves. Do this hands separately. With finger three, bounce from one key to the next, between octaves, lifting and catching the weight of your forearms from the elbows. Bounce and land; bounce and land, lifting your hand high over the keyboard. Now keep practicing this until it feels comfortable. Keep this posture as you play your pieces and remember to hold your hands “flat” with elbows out-turned to add buoyancy, spring and flexibility to your playing.

Now you know a powerful piano habit to dramatically improve your playing and help you your musical dreams - So keep doing it. Soon it will feel so natural you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it!

For great home piano activities parents can use to help children ages 5 to 11 develop their musical talent, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You’ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child - right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f’ree internet newsletter so you can download f’ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.

These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. Click here to visit PianoAdventureBears.com For a wealth of information about piano lessons, visit tallypiano.com

It seems every year there’ s a whole stack of new Christmas collections coming out for us the general public to purchase. Most of them are basically just rehashed and repackaged collections of the same old songs we’ve heard on previous years collections. Within that tall stack of CD’s there’s always a couple of fun gems that turn up. Which is the story with Merry Mixmas from Capitol Records. It’s an excellent collection of Christmas Classics remixed by the hottest remix artists out there. Of course these tracks are all available on Capitols Christmas Cocktails CD collections volumes 1 - 3 in their original forms. This CD basically collects the best tracks from those CD’s and offers them in the hot remixed format.

The CD starts fairly slow with a Bent Remix of Winter Wonderland by Bing Crosby. This remix sounds so good it doesn’t really sound like a remix as it keeps the elements of the original track in this version and it feels like nothings really remixed or done to this track. It’s a nice way to start a Christmas CD a slower paced track and build up to the more upbeat versions later on in the collection.

Up next is a fun and lively remix of Nat King Cole’s All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) by MJ Cole. I think MJ Cole has come up with an excellent remix of this classic track which utilizes all of the great vocals with an updated sound but keeping that great retro feel of the original version.

Dean Martin’s Baby It’s Cold Outside remix by ARP is what follows next. Again with this remix it feels like the original version but there’s that added extra beat that the original didn’t have. It’s quite nicely done by ARP.

The Latin Project have done a wonderful remix of Ella Fitzgerald’s Sleigh Ride by giving it a Latin mid-tempo vibe to it. Ella Fitzgerald’s vocals sound so good within a remix as we’ve heard in the Verve Remixed series and this track is another winner as far as remixes of Ella Fitzgerald tracks go. Next up should be a whole collection of Ella’s classics on one CD.

What comes next is one of the better remixes on this collection. Santa Baby remixed by Alexkid & DJ Sleep and sung by the original Catwoman herself Eartha Kitt. This track actually feels like a remix which is what this collection is supposed to be a Christmas CD of remixes. The beatz, clicks and bass just move along with lovely Eartha’s voice. That classic track is sung so perfectly by Miss Eartha Kitt. The remix still has elements of the original but it’s quite good what Alexkid & DJ Sleep have done. Perfected it for the Remix Generation.

Up next is a mellow chill remix of Lou Rawl’s Have Yourself A Merry Christmas by awayTeam. It’s a lovely track with fun electronic sounds and cute beats mixed in with his original vocals.

Lena Horn’s Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! remixed by Suedojazz fades up to full effect with the beats already in progress. Lena’s vocals immediately start up and the jazzy reworked track takes full effect. This remix clocks in at two minutes and fifty five seconds and it’s a groovy upbeat reworking of the original. Fun and to the point as it’s quite short.

Malibu have done a hip and quirky update to Billy May’s Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo by adding the cute vocal snippets to the track. This version pretty much stays true to it’s original form except for the added beats, vocals and record scratches by Malibu.

Onto the next track we have Kay Starr’s (Everybody’s Waiting For) The Man With The Bag remixed by Thunderball. Thunderball are known for releasing loungy downbeat electronica and this track was the perfect choice for them to remix. The beats are loud and Kay’s vocals complement them perfectly.

Psapp’s Lady Remix of I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm by Les Brown & Band is another quick and to the point remix of a classic Chrstmas tune. This version has the upbeat Big Band groove with the great female vocals. I like how they have incorporated the sounds of casino tables into the track. I think those sound effects work great with this track.

Fatman Is Coming, Fatman Is Coming yell out the backing vocals in Johnny Mercer’s Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town remixed by Q-Burns Abstract Message. The version has been given a big bouncy beat feel to the track and feels more like a remix rather an update to the original track.

Nancy Wilson’s upbeat reworking of The Christmas Waltz by awayTeam is quite different in feel compared to Lou Rawl’s more relaxed and laidback reworking of Have Yourself A Merry Christmas. This track has the big beats and the cute Christmas feel and charm of yesteryear.

Ursula 1000’s remix of Julie London’s I’d Like You For Christmas has been given the upbeat energy as the original is quite mellow and it’s one of my favorites. Ursula 1000 is known for producing retro sounding loungy electronic music and this remix sure sounds like it’s right up his alley. It’s a hip swinging remix.

The Merriest by June Christy remixed by Thunderball is another fun upbeat energetic remix of the wonderful track. It has the Big Band samples, the beautiful vocals of June Christies and Thunderballs excellent production and remix skills. This one of the better remixes on this set.

Finally we are up to the last track on this collection and it’s Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Christmas Time Is Here remixed by Markus Enochson. This unfortunately is one of the weaker remixes and I was hoping this collection would close on a bang but it’s unfortunately a bust!

Overall Merry Mixmas is a fun CD. It has great classic Christmas tracks updated and remixed by top Electronic musicians and remixer’s. Unfortunately most of the remixes don’t really feel like remixes and they are quite short in length. I was hoping to totally fall in love with this collection like I have with other remix collections in the past for example like the Verve Remixed collection but this collection is 50 percent great and 50 percent just ok.

Many musicians complain about the lack of gigs they have, but when I ask them to look closely at the type of venue they are searching, the repeated pattern seems to be clubs, stadiums, concert halls and pubs. What I would like to share with you is this… keep a look out and be totally aware of the possible gig locations so that you’re not limiting yourself. How about restaurants, parks, malls or my favourite, the local coffee shops? Coffee shops are the next link in the chain of great gigs. Depending on the venue, you can drop in several times and build links with staff and get a feel for the type of customers that come there. Make it your second residence!

Depending on the type of music, coffee shops represent the perfect venue for musicians to meet with their perfect audience, and if they are your right audience, what must your audiences be doing if they’re not watching you? Drinking coffee

Coffee shops are great places for people who want a break from both work and home. It’s like the middle space, or the third space. I personally like these places because it’s nice and cosy, allowing you to build deeper relationships with the crowds.

Something that works day in, day out is the power of repetition. If people see your name several times, they remember it, and create a link in their mind. By placing several posters in the coffee shops where the same people go everytime between home and work, it becomes something they cannot miss, and they will definitely remember it. You can guarantee most of them will be at your event.

So how do you get booked?

Pay attention to the peak and off-peak times at the coffee shop as you can use this to your advantage really easily. If you play in the morning when it’s peak time and attract many customers for the shop, you’ll notice that the lunch area may be very low in customers, so pitched correctly, you could ask the shop management if you could play in the afternoon, and attract the customers that way.

Don’t expect to be paid by the coffee shop management, but one way to grow your audience is to collect mailing list signups. This way you can inform them by post or e-mail where you are performing next because there will definitely want to be a part of your music.

The most important thing is that you have already built up great relationships so that you can emphasise how you will bring more people to their place.

Are your students loathe to practice as much as they should? OK, you can stop laughing and pick yourself up off the floor now. I know it wasn’t the brightest question.

But I asked it to make a point, of course. Haven’t you been guilty of that misbehavior? I personally am a lifetime repeat offender. As adults we all know intellectually that if you don’t practice something, you don’t get better. We tell our students and ourselves this until the bile rises in our throat threatening an embarrassing episode. So why do we keep putting it off?

In the darkest recesses of your psyche a nagging whisper gives you the answer. It’s not fun. And in this day and age nobody wants to do anything that’s not FUN!

Now while I am not an advocate of the ‘everything should be entertaining’ school of thought, it is also true that practicing vies for your student’s miniscule attention span. Practicing is going head to head against the latest video game.

To compete with that there needs to be some pretty excellent mind candy. The very best flavor on the market seems to be success. Generally if you are good at something you like doing it over and over.

In order for you or your student to feel like he’s being successful he has to pass a number of observable milestones. According to studies this is one of the attractions to the ubiquitous computer games. Let’s face it, it doesn’t take long to see some progress on the computer. Most of us know that allure of almost getting to the next level of the game.

To capitalize on that same feeling our students need to have small enough goals to feel great pretty often. Not only that but they need to be able to look back and really experience how far they have come in the short practice times of a few weeks.

And you know what? There are ways to plug into this type of feel good. And a great bonus is that the student will do most of the work to set it up and get himself there.

Here is the trick. No, I am not going to quote any of the success gurus you regularly see on TV. Well OK, I really am, but you know they do have some good things to say and this is one they all seem to agree on.

Goal setting. And I mean setting it down on paper every week in the same little log book. Make up several menus to give your students a few ideas. Initially they will choose the things they want to accomplish. As they become more proficient many goals will become self evident, and they can come up with them alone. Your input will be necessary as they don’t know what they don’t know, but be aware of the fact that a major part of the process is that the student must participate in setting the goals, otherwise it is just more homework.

The goals need to be in several categories. Daily, weekly, monthly, for the term, for the year, for several years. Once a system is put in place and there is some small amount of class time devoted to it every week then the thrill of achievement will be built in. The pleasure loving student will begin to find practice can be fun because they can check off items and see success written into the book a mere few weeks after starting. The amount that can be accomplished with this miniscule discipline is amazing. The book fills up and your young musicians are impressed with their industrial strength production levels.

The trick is to put the system in place and then work with it for several months. A session at the end of the month where students get to share what they have accomplished does wonders for everyone’s feel good quotient and spurs more goals and more success.

Try it. You and your students will all be much better off for the experience.

Suzie Hammond is a teacher turned writer and factotum for: http://www.musicalcompositions.net

There you may purchase and download sheet music for concert bands, choirs,chamber ensembles,jazz groups. See it,hear it,download it, rehearse it. FREE Newsletter and FREE Special Report written by Carl Hammond a 35 year international music veteran.

Well written interesting music for your groups to play right now via download. Score pages, MP3s to help you decide suitability.

It’s no secret that virtually everyone loves music in some form or other. After all, music is the universal language. In one way or another we all participate in it from our cradle song to our wedding song to our funeral song, with thousands of other s stops along the way.

The country-western fan may not like jazz, but he or she sure loves the sound of pickin’ & grinnin’.

And that’s as it should be. If we all liked the same kind of music, there just wouldn’t be the variety that is available to us now. We can choose from musical styles ranging from heavy classical and opera to rock to children’s songs to Broadway musicals to gospel music to the blues.

Each has its place, and each seems on the surface to be drastically different than another form of music. The key word is “on the surface.” But beneath the surface of all music is a commonality that is organic to all forms and styles of music.

So what does all music have in common? What makes music tick?

At least 3 things - sometimes more, but never less:

1. Melody

2. Rhythm

3. Harmony

The melody is the part of a song or composition that you whistle or hum - in other words, the tune of the song. In one sense, it is the most visible of the 3 elements, because melody is what identifies a song. Without melody, it would be difficult to even conceive of a song or piece.

In musical notation, the melody is almost always written in the treble clef - also known as the treble staff. It consists of a horizontal line of notes that move up and down on the clef as the tune moves higher or lower.

Rhythm is the beat - the swing - the throb of the music. It happens in repeating patterns, depending upon the type of music. It is like a horizontal line of beats which occur at regular or semi-regular intervals. A waltz, for example, basically consists of a heavy beat followed by two lighter beats. So we say that a waltz is in triple meter - one strong beat followed by two weak beats, then repeated.

A march, on the other hand, generally consists of a heavy beat followed by a light beat, then another heavy beat followed by another light beat. (I’m simplifying, of course - there are many varieties…) So a march is in duple meter - as you might expect since we have two feet and we march in left-right-left-right patterns.

All rhythms are some combination of triple meter and/or duple meter, and the possibilities are endless - from boogie to R&B to mambos and sambas and bossa novas and….on and on.

Harmony, the 3rd aspect of music, is the musical background of a song - the chords, or intervals “behind” the melody. Without harmony, a song sounds empty - like a vocalist singing without an accompanist - or accapella. Music doesn’t HAVE to have harmony to function, but in actual practice it almost always does, even if it is just the interplay of two melodies, as in counterpoint.

You could spend a lifetime learning all the nuances of music, but it its most basic form, it is these 3 elements combined together; melody, rhythm, and harmony that comprise music.

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music books and music educational materials such as DVD’s, CD’s, musical games for kids, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for both children & adults. His book & DVD course titled “How To Dress Up ‘Naked Music’ On The Piano!” is used by adults around the world. He holds advanced degrees from Southern Oregon University and was the founder of Piano University in Southern Oregon. He is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled “Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions” with over 59,700 current subscribers.

Learn to play piano on a train station? Let me show you what you can learn about piano playing as you wait for your train!

Well, all people seem to go by car these days but we might have had the privilege to go by train and this experience can teach us a lot about piano playing:

1. You want to go somewhere by train. In piano playing this is the wish you have to learn something on the piano.

2. You go to the train station trying to find a suitable train. Before you can know if you are taking the right train you have to decide where you want to go. When learning to play the piano this is the goal you want to reach.

3. Before buying a ticket to the right train you have to decide when you want to arrive. When you learn to play piano this means when your goal is to be accomplished.

4. When you know these things it is much easier to find the right train. In piano playing this means that when you know what you want to accomplish as a pianist and when you want to have accomplished it it is much easier to select a proper method to use to reach your goal.

5. Now you can buy a ticket to the right train. This is when your decision becomes a commitment. Learning to play the piano can involve money but the most important investment is your work and motivation. Through a commitment you gain momentum to accomplish the piano playing goal.

6. After having bought a ticket most of the job is done. Left is only to find your train and your seat and then relax. In your piano playing this means that when you have decided what you really want to accomplish it is much easier to progress. You know where you are in your piano skills, where to begin your work and you don’t have to waste your energi by wondering what to do.

Do you have to take the right train?

Some unusual people might think it is okay to take any train and travel for the fun of it with no thought about the destination. If you feel that way about your piano playing and are comfortable with it it’s okay I guess.

Let me share some thoughts…

The reason why I started to be very interested in computers way back in the late 80’s was because of what I believed that computers could help me with. I was very interested in composing music and had used pen and paper so far.

I tried to write nice sheets with music but it took a lot of time and if I wanted to change something in my compositions, which I often wanted then and even now, it was difficult.

The notation programs back then were difficult to use but I perused the manuals because I had this great goal before me that computers and notation programs could help me with my creative endeavors.

The goal was actually to compose music and the means was computers and notation programs.

Computers have become much easier to use and notation programs more sophisticated since then and I feel that I have reached the goal to become more effective as a composer through the use of computers as a means for my music composing.

Some of my friends have used computers the opposite way. They have been interested in computers and have aimlessly installed and uninstalled programs and changed os or messed around in the Windows directory and so on.

I guess we could say that their goal was to have fun with computers, even if they haven’t expressed it that way, and I think they also reach their goal.

What I wanted to say with this is that it is much easier to select methods to use and to be really motivated when you learn to play the piano if you know what you want to accomplish.

Take the right train and enjoy your journey into piano land!

Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your free sheet music and learn to play piano resources at http://www.capotastomusic.com.